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Three synaptic components contributing to robust network synchronization

Z. Wang1, H. Fan2, and K. Aihara3

  • 1College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China
  • 2Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, Shanghai 200051, China
  • 3Department of Mathematical Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan

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Phys. Rev. E 83, 051905 – Published 3 May, 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.83.051905

Abstract

Robust synchronized activity is widely observed in real neural systems. However, a mechanism for robust synchronization that can be understood analytically, and has a clear physical meaning, remains elusive. This paper considers such a mechanism by formalizing three synaptic components contributing to robust synchronization in networks with heterogeneous external drive currents and conductance-based synapses. The first component arises from the assumption that the aggregate post-synaptic potential of a neuron decays more if it fires later within a spike volley. The second component results because neurons with smaller drives have reached a lower membrane potential at the time when the volley of inputs arrives than that reached by neurons with larger drives. The third component arises from the assumption that neurons firing later in the previous volley have had less time to integrate their drives than neurons firing earlier have had, again causing a lower membrane potential at the time when the volley of inputs arrives. Because of the voltage-dependent properties of synaptic currents, either of the last two components will cause smaller inhibitions for the later-firing neurons if the synapses are inhibitory. This smaller inhibition causes the later-firing neurons to fire earlier in the next cycle, thereby forcing them toward synchrony. With these three synaptic components, we discuss the relationship between the robustness of the synchrony and the parameters, search for the optimal parameter set for the robust network synchronization of a certain frequency band, and demonstrate the key role of the voltage-dependent properties of synaptic currents in robust or stable synchronization.

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      Phys. Rev. E 83, 051905– Published 3 May, 2011
      • Received 9 December 2009

      ©2011 American Physical Society

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